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Conquering Fears and Fat Loss

Posted: 25th June, 2015

I’ll be honest with you. I have never had any interest in doing a skydive and my heart sank when I found out this was planned for the group activity day of our mentoring program. Am I scared of heights? No. Flying? Never been a problem. Jumping out of a plane from 14000ft with no guarantee the parachute would open? YES that’s what I was scared of!! And not just for me but for Keris too, as she was right there with me doing the same crazy thing, so I was double scared for the two of us.

In fact, I think I was more scared for her as I honestly don’t know what I would do without her. She joked she would be fine without me and save a fortune on food bills. Charming! This was a classic case of risk versus reward decision. The reward was a potentially epic experience, a huge breakthrough, memories and of course doing something I never thought I could. But the risk! The risk was potentially death or at the very least serious injury.

So, Keris went first.

SH*T was the first word out my mouth. Watching the love of your life essentially fall out of a plane is a bizarre thing to witness as I’m sure you can imagine. But I pulled myself together and I found my courage and I STILL DID IT. The question is why? This is the important bit I knew I could learn from the experience, here’s what it taught me:

Lesson 1: Trust An Expert

When you sky dive without qualification you have to do a tandem sky dive with an experienced skydiver strapped to your back. This person essentially takes control of the situation and ensures your dive is safe and enjoyable. You have to place your trust in them and be confident that they know exactly what they are doing.

So, what did he do? He shook my hand and introduced himself. He assured me we were going to have a great time and love every minute. But I had questions and wanted answers, not just any answers either, the right answers ☺

Me: How many jumps have you done?
Instructor: Over 8000, 5000 solo and 3000+ tandem.

Phew so this guy is experienced, tick number one.

Me: Has anything ever gone wrong?
Instructor: Yes but nothing I have not been able to deal with and ensure a safe landing.

Tick number 2.

Me: What if I forget the instructions you’ve given me?
Instructor: There are 3 things to remember, try your best to remember them but if you forget all of them, don’t worry, just enjoy the ride and I will make sure everything is ok.

Tick number 3.

I have now established my guy is experienced, has dealt with emergency situations, that he’s confident and reassuring. This was just the guy I needed for my journey. The entire time we were spooning during the 14000ft plane ride my instructor was talking in my ear, asking me questions, reassuring me and gaining my trust. He knew how to read the situation and read me.

He empathised with the fact that:

A) I was scared
B) Any jokes about something being loose (I am not talking bowels here) would not go down well
C) I was worried about Keris

He comforted me by telling me he would point Keris out to me as soon as we jumped so I would know she was ok. This guy was good.

So how the hell does this help you on your fat loss or health journey?

We are all at different stages in our own journey to awesomeness. The route of this journey should not be fast tracked, it’s a lifelong one. There are likely to be road blocks, speed bumps, diversions and it’s important you have a good coach on hand to guide you and find alternative routes where necessary, a bit like a like a FIT sat nav! ☺

Lesson 2: Look For True Coaching Qualities

A good coach doesn’t just get you from A to B in the quickest time possible, they look at the bigger picture, have empathy, understanding, adapt their approach to each individual and understand that what works at first may not work further down the line. A good coach consistently reads an individual to ensures their needs are being met to bring success.

For example, some clients or team members we work with prefer step change whilst others want to dive into a complete lifestyle overhaul straight away. Some people like to count calories, whilst others hate it. We all have our ways and the truth is there is no right or wrong way – only a way that works for you and a way that doesn’t. ☺

When looking for a coach to help you on your fat loss journey you have to TRUST them and trust needs to be earned. Make sure they have proven their passion and dedication to helping people.

Lesson 3: Face Your Fears Head On

When it comes to making changes to your nutrition, training or lifestyle it can be daunting. As humans we naturally fear the thought of stepping out of our comfort zone, going into the unknown and probably most of all failure.

What if you don’t stick to the plan? What if it doesn’t work? What if you don’t get results? How will you know if it’s working? How long will it take to get results?

These questions need answering to ensure you are ready to make your jump to become a better you.

I use skydiving as an example because I overcame a fear by trusting my instructor and committing to do something I had never done before. I could do this because my expert had the tools, he made it a fun, rewarding experience and convinced me to commit. The desired outcome was achieved as a team. It’s exactly the same with long-term health and fat loss goals.

At Fitter Food we like to see ourselves as the skydive instructors of the health and fat loss world. ☺

We are here to answer your questions, ensure your journey is enjoyable, rewarding and gain your trust. We are strapped to your back making sure that you have another option if one way doesn’t seem be working, we are whispering in your ear reminding you that this is YOUR journey and to get results you must do what works for you and adapt accordingly.

Most of all we are here to let you know you’re not alone and we are here to help no matter how rough the journey becomes we will keep your destination in sight.

Lesson 4: Change Cannot Occur Without Action

I would never have known what it felt like to hurtle through the air from 14000ft if I didn’t jump. Turns out it was amazing, a complete euphoria and I WILL be doing it again. Not bad for someone who was quite literally crying before the jump. I changed on that jump, ☺ I landed with this overwhelming feeling of success, achievement and strength. I took the first step into the unknown for me. To be fair there was only one step to take before we were out the plane but you get the picture…

So there you have it, that was my attempt at linking our skydive to your personal journey to awesome health. I’m sure it made perfect sense, haha! ☺

Confidence breeds confidence and we are confident in our ability to help YOU get results because we get results time and time again with all of our clients. Whether you are male, female, want to burn fat, build muscle, fix your gut or reduce inflammation – we have the qualifications but more importantly the experience to make your goals a reality. Plus we care, we want you to succeed and we’ll do everything possible to help you to. Check out our latest online programme Fitter Food Summer Camp and be sure to get in touch with any questions at all.